RE: leaking roof
I'm really impressed by everyone who is so perfect that they would never allow a leak to persist, or even occur. I chased a leak in mine for years, replacing the sealant in every place that even looked like it was cracked. Like yours it only leaked after a hard rain, and sometimes not even then. I finally found the leak a couple weeks ago. The hole for the TV antenna had been cut a little too large in the rubber roofing at the base of the antenna. The water seeped under the base, then followed the coax and appeared inside the RV about 3 ft away from the crank handle. Be aware that your leak may not be where you think it is.
RE: Breakway Switch (cable)
Can't you just pull the chains through the hole on the receiver and attach the hook to a link so it will be the correct length?
Not very often. Either wrong type hook, too large of a hook or no hook (threaded ring)
RE: Bad fuel mileage deisel
A fuel filter or fuel screen blockage would affect power, not mileage. Check your air filter, turbo and turbo plumbing. Also check your oil for a diesel smell or an increase on the dipstick. A malfunctioning injector could be pumping fuel into a cylinder and some of it will get past the rings into the oil.
RE: Breakdown
There are places in the U.S. that are more than 100 miles from a repair facility. Good Sam will go the distance and it appears that AAA will either not respond or drop you off when the odometer hits 100. I believe that is what is meant by unlimited.
RE: Breakway Switch (cable)
A lot of times the chains are too long and I have to twist them to keep them from dragging.
Never twist chains to shorten them. In a break-away situation, those twisted links have "travel" space until they make contact with the next twisted link, thus weakening the entire chain.
I'm aware of that, but when the trailer is new from the factory, going to a dealer I haven't any choice. I sure as heck won't cut them. My thought process is that a weakened chain that is the right length is better than a strong chain that allows the hitch to drop onto the pavement if the ball were to break.
RE: Breakway Switch (cable)
In 5 years and hundreds of TTs, horse trailers, cargo trailers and boat trailers I have never hooked to one that the chain was too short, or the safety cable for that matter. A lot of times the chains are too long and I have to twist them to keep them from dragging. What are you hooking them to?
RE: Cost of 8' Bed repair ?
Sorry, I was on US83 north of Abilene, possibly as far north as Dunlap. I didn't make a real good mental note of which town. Closer to you is Snyders in Holland 800-460-8025
RE: Breakdown
I broke down near a KOA on a weekend once. The owner came out with his pickup and towed my 5er to a spot. I limped the pickup in. On Monday I called a transmission repair place and made arrangements for a rebuild to be sent from Ft. Worth. When it came in I called my ERS and they towed the truck to the transmission place. When I was broke down in WY in a different pick-up, years ago, the ERS (camping world) had my entire rig pulled to a campground, then towed the pick-up to a dealer for repair (warranty). See the link here? Emergency Road Service that caters to RVers is money well spent.
If you need to get your trailer to Washington, but don't think the transmission is up to the task, there is a RV Transportation company in Portland that can help you out. If that is what you need PM me for the name and number.
RE: 2005 Cummins Injector
The dealer said they could submit as a warranty claim but Cummins would deny it.
That is bunk. Dodge buys the engines and warranties them, not Cummins.
If Cummins supplied the warranty you would have the option of taking your pick-up to one of their shops, and as you probably know, that is not an option. Some dealers admit to the lack of knowledge of their "techs" and have a deal going with a Cummins shop to do repairs, but that is very rare. I'd bet dollars to donuts the mechanic never pulled that injector or any others, and if he did, how did he determine it was clogged? It sounds like you are being hosed, and unfortunately, I have no dea how you can change it now that "clogged injector" has been entered into the giant data bank in the sky.
RE: Big pickups with smaller diesel engines
There goes the theory that modifying (Cummins) diesels shortens their life. How many miles on that old Cummins of yours? 500,000?
631k and change. Never been opened up, still has original injection pump and turbo and uses about a qt of oil every 5k.
RE: Towing Capacity 1986 1 Ton Dually
You could tow the titanic with that truck, but be prepared to finance Chevron's expedition into the arctic. You will never see higher than 11 mpg with it, loaded or unloaded.
RE: Big pickups with smaller diesel engines
When my pickup was new the Cummins in it was rated at 215 hp and 440 TQ at the flywheel. If you want a lower powered diesel, all you need to do is get one from 98 or earlier. Me, I got tired of struggling up a 6% grade (30 to 40 mph) with a 10,000 pound 5er behind me and made the necessary improvements. Still have the pickup, dynoed 297/611 at the rear wheels (which is equivelant to the hp/tq ratings of the new diesels at the flywheel)and really enjoy climbing the same grades at 50 to 55 mph with my 13,000 5er and not having monthly payments. I'll opt for the power. By the way, mileage when empty has not decreased and hasn't dropped much loaded. I'm pretty sure that if I dropped down to 3rd gear and pulled those hills at 30mph I wouldn't have a decrease in mileage at all.
RE: Gooseneck Conversion for Fifth Wheel
Surely, you will notice something wrong before the hitch box completely separates from the trailer, won't you?
In my case I looked in the rearview mirror and the front of the 5er looked like it had gotten closer to the cab. I pulled into a parking lot, and sure enough, the what should have been a vertical tube was at a 30 to 35 degree angle forward. The metal plate that the hitch attaches to was torn like paper.
I put up with a 5er hitch in the bed with no complaints.
RE: Draining Fuel/Water Separator....Best Method?
Yes I was a military pilot and yes we did check the fuel during the daily inspections. I'm asking because I have yet to see any water in the fuel even after multiple fillups and 15k miles. My aux tank is aluminum, so condensation would be most likely there, but I have never seen any water in it either. I do only buy fuel at high volume truck stops. If you want to do it, be my guest, but here is a tip. Let the fuel sit for 10 to 30 minutes before checking for water. It takes that long for the small particles to settle and form a drop big enough to see with the naked eye, unless of course the filter is full of water to start with. Swirling it just keeps the water in suspension.
RE: Get a new pickup or do major PM program
172k is nothing on a 7.3. Only a D-Max is worn out at that mileage. New hoses, a serp belt, flush the brakes, replace the fluids on schedule, drive it till you feel like getting something else. If you have been and continue doing scheduled maintenance the cost of keeping your current truck will never be as high as buying a new one and doing scheduled maintenance on it. I know because I'm driving a pick-up with 631k miles on it. Yes, I've replaced 2 waterpumps, 2 fuel pumps, the power steering pump, all the u-joints twice, and put in a new set of injectors at 570k. I've managed to break several transmissions, but I would have busted the ones in a new pickup as well. I pull my 5er and other trailers all over the U.S. and Canada and never worry about breaking down. According to some of these posters I should have replaced my truck 3 times!!!
RE: Draining Fuel/Water Separator....Best Method?
My question is, why are you draining fuel from the filter? The only time my drain gets opened is when I replace the filter (about every 15k miles). In 11 years and 631k miles (yes, it is a Cummins) I have yet to get a WIF light and have never found any water in the fuel I do drain. Seems to me you are just wearing out the valve and wasting fuel.
RE: Wind deflectors, do they add mpg????
Gunpilot77,
Again, not quite true. Anything that aerodynamically breaks the wind, even if it is smaller than what's following, has a benefit.
Last weekend I performed a little experiment on some of the long uphill stretches coming home. Following 2 seconds behind a normal passenger car with my rig, then pulling out into the empty passing lane, there was a noticeable difference. I could maintain and accelerate with the car breaking the air ahead of me, but was losing speed when I was on my own.
2 seconds behind. How does that equate to a tow vehicle and a trailer? Must be one looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong hitch assy. What is your "rig"? A pickup/camper combo that has a grill assy barely larger than a car's rear end or a real rig with 18 wheels? At any rate, 2 seconds behind is hardly drafting unless you are driving at about 10mph, plus you aren't putting the fuel in the car in front of you.
Aerodynamics is about lift, weight, drag and thrust. You get the thrust from the rear wheels. Drag is wind resistance. Two frontal areas will produce more drag than one, plain and simple unless they are so close together that a crosswind wouldn't effect air flow. The lift in the case of airplane wings is the low pressure created at the top of the wing and the high pressure under the wing as it passes thru air. When you have enough lift you can get the weight of the airplane off the ground. With an air deflector the high pressure would push the air "up and over" the trailer. All good so far? Ever heard the term equal and opposite reaction? All that high pressure pushing the air up and over is also pushing the TV down an equal amount or more depending on the design, so in effect you have made your TV heavier because weight is the on the opposite side of lift. Still with me? Then there is that low pressure area behind the little deflector and behind the rather small rear portion of the TV. Perhaps there is a small drafting effect for the trailer when there is no crosswind but that effect is equal to the rear ward suction on the TV. When there is a cross wind you still have the suction, but the drafting benefit is lost. But what do I know, I was only an instuctor pilot for 5 years.
RE: Something to think about before buying AARP/Hartford Ins.
I got a rate quote from Hartford for a wheel chair transport van we bought to accomodate my mother's needs. They came in lower than anyone else, so I called them back and spent about an hour doing the application. When it was finished the gal told me that the cost was nearly double of the quote because whoever had given the quote to me had not added the wheel chair lift into the equation. I had specifically told the first person about the lift. I had been lowballed. Not only did I get my insurance elsewhere, I never renewed my AARP membership. If AARP endorses a company like that I have no use for them.
